Editor:
Roads have been a major concern for Orinda ever since the Infrastructure Committee came out with its report in 2006. In the 2008 City Council Member election, the two winning candidates stated that their top three priorities were roads, roads, and roads.
A recent article in the Orinda News reports on the City's current 10 Year Plan (adopted last April). However, the article did not include information contained in the latest (December 2014) consultant's report to the City which is prepared bi-annually (available on the City web site "Pavement Management Program Budget Options Report - CAPS Dec 2014"). This report shows five road repair financing options, all of which have a cost of about $60 million to bring all roads up to the condition that the City's 10 Year Plan specifies; no road below 50 PCI.
However, the report's repair scenarios assume compressing the repairs into a five year time frame while the City Plan assumes ten years. Extending the report's time frame four more years to accurately compare it to the current City Plan would add costs for inflation, additional road degradation, and four years of maintenance for roads already brought up to reasonable standards.
This would bring the total cost of repairing the roads to $80 million. When the $15 million for associated storm drain work is included, the total cost becomes $95 million; $30 million more than the current 10 Year Plan projects.
A new 10 Year Plan needs to be created. Hopefully the City will keep the community advised as to what its plans and deliberations are. This will require an education process to demonstrate to the taxpayers that it is both affordable and in their own best interests to come up with the $50 million or more of additional taxes required to fix their roads and then $3-5 million per year thereafter to maintain them.
Note: The City Council will be meeting jointly with the CIOC to discuss roads on June 10. All Orinda residents interested in having their roads repaired and then maintained should attend.
Steve Cohn
Orinda
Roads have been a major concern for Orinda ever since the Infrastructure Committee came out with its report in 2006. In the 2008 City Council Member election, the two winning candidates stated that their top three priorities were roads, roads, and roads.
A recent article in the Orinda News reports on the City's current 10 Year Plan (adopted last April). However, the article did not include information contained in the latest (December 2014) consultant's report to the City which is prepared bi-annually (available on the City web site "Pavement Management Program Budget Options Report - CAPS Dec 2014"). This report shows five road repair financing options, all of which have a cost of about $60 million to bring all roads up to the condition that the City's 10 Year Plan specifies; no road below 50 PCI.
However, the report's repair scenarios assume compressing the repairs into a five year time frame while the City Plan assumes ten years. Extending the report's time frame four more years to accurately compare it to the current City Plan would add costs for inflation, additional road degradation, and four years of maintenance for roads already brought up to reasonable standards.
This would bring the total cost of repairing the roads to $80 million. When the $15 million for associated storm drain work is included, the total cost becomes $95 million; $30 million more than the current 10 Year Plan projects.
A new 10 Year Plan needs to be created. Hopefully the City will keep the community advised as to what its plans and deliberations are. This will require an education process to demonstrate to the taxpayers that it is both affordable and in their own best interests to come up with the $50 million or more of additional taxes required to fix their roads and then $3-5 million per year thereafter to maintain them.
Note: The City Council will be meeting jointly with the CIOC to discuss roads on June 10. All Orinda residents interested in having their roads repaired and then maintained should attend.
Steve Cohn
Orinda
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA